


the darkest of (birth)days

by rxginamills



Series: a curse that was never cast [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-20
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-25 12:51:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14379036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rxginamills/pseuds/rxginamills
Summary: It's Emma's 12th birthday. Brennan, Liam and Killian are coming to celebrate it with her and her family. The party takes an unexpected turn when an uninvited guest appears and demands Charming and Snow of something they can never give up.





	the darkest of (birth)days

"It's my birthday! Yes it is! Yes yes yes it is!"

Emma runs around the hallways of the castle in a lovely light pink gown. Snow is preparing the big dining hall for Emma's celebration. Charming has invited Brennan, Killian and Liam to celebrate with them. Emma remembers them from playing with Killian and reading interesting books with Liam. They've grown close over the years.

Emma rushes into the dining hall. Snow turns to her and smiles. She just finished placing flower vases all around the room and now the air smells of lilies, Emma's favorite flowers.

"How's my beautiful princess doing?" Snow asks happily and comes to kiss Emma's forehead.

"I'm great! Today is my 12th birthday!" Emma claps her hands excitedly.

"I know, sweetie! Brennan, Killian and Liam should be here soon. Why don't you go wait for them outside," Snow suggests. Emma nods and runs out of the castle. She heads towards the front gates but first she goes to the stables to visit her uncle Happy, who often tends for the horses of the castle. Emma wants to see her favorite horse, Hercules, whom she named after her second favorite constellation and her mother's childhood friend.

"Uncle Happy!" Emma exclaims. Happy turns and grins widely.

"Hello! There's my favorite girl!" he opens his arms and Emma runs to his embrace. They hug for a moment before Emma lets go.

"Hi Uncle Happy! And hi horses! Is Hercules here?" Emma asks quickly, looking for her pale white stallion.

"Unfortunately not. Your father went to greet Mr. Jones and his children halfway and one of his guards decided to ride with Hercules today. He's in good hands," Happy says as he pats a brown horse's neck.

"Look, there they come!" Emma points towards the road excitedly. She sees her father on a majestetic, black horse while one of his guards — whom Emma recognizes as a nice man named Marcus — is riding on Hercules. Behind them come Brennan, Killian and Liam. Liam is riding his own horse and Killian is with his father. Emma waves.

"Dad!" she exclaims as Charming gets off the horse and hugs her tightly.

"Happy birthday," he kisses her head. She grins and then goes to hug Brennan.

"Look at you! You're so big already! Happy birthday," he congratulates Emma. Killian and Liam come forward and also hug their friend. Liam isn't as awkward as Killian, who hands Emma a small package with multicolored giftwrapping.

"Thank you," she says quietly. Killian smiles slightly shyly. Liam nudges his shoulder lightly and Killian sticks out his tongue at his brother's smirking face. Emma goes to Marcus, who is handing Hercules to Happy's care.

"Your Highness," Marcus smiles at Emma.

"Hello Marcus! Did you take good care of Hercules?" she asks.

"Yes, I did. I know how much he means to you. I didn't let any harm come to him. We simply escorted Mr. Jones and his sons here safely. It was your father's request," Marcus explains. He and a few other guards begin to make their way back inside to normal duties, accompanied by Charming, Emma and the three Jones men. Well, you could hardly call Killian a man, he still has a small baby face.

When inside, Charming goes to Snow and kisses her softly. She smiles onto his lips, happy to see him safe. Then she greets Brennan, Killian and Liam with a hug.

"Hello! It's fantastic to see you! Please follow me to the dining hall and take a seat," Snow says. She leads the Jones' into the dining hall and they sit down onto their places. Emma sits between Charming and Snow. All her gifts are placed onto a seperate table behind them.

"So, David, Snow, Emma, how have you been?" Brennan asks.

"We've been great, thank you. David is doing some charity work and I'm giving the children horse riding lessons with Happy three times a week. How about you?" Snow explains. A few butlers serve drinks for all of them while she talks.

"We've been doing fine as well. Killian and Liam are going to school and I'm doing two or three sailing trips every two months. I actually own a fantastic ship and the boys are fighting over it. They're arguing about who's going to get it when they're older," Brennan laughs.

"The ship will be mine!" Killian exclaims, raising his fork high in the air like a captain. Brennan lowers his arm, motioning that it's not polite to wave the cutlery around like he does at home.

"No, it will be mine!" Liam says with a smirk. Snow and Charming notice that his voice is much deeper now than it was before. It's proof that he's growing up. He was a little eight-year-old when they first met and now...

"Let's drop the subject for now, alright? Emma, how has your birthday been?" Brennan asks Emma kindly. Her eyes lit up with excitement. She's happy to share what she's been doing.

"It's been super fun! Early in the morning when dad had already gone, mom took me to see Leo — "

"Excuse me?" Charming hits his fist on the table gently, frowning. Emma and Snow giggle together.

"I don't remember seeing a kid named Leo in my house," Charming looks at Snow sharply.

"Relax, my love. Leo is not a boyfriend, don't you worry about that. He's a horse I bought for us. He's named after another constellation Emma likes. Happy and I are going to use him as a training horse with the children. The previous owner told me he's excellent around kids," Snow explains. Charming relaxes.

The group of six eat calmly and chat more. Emma talks to Killian and Liam while the adults chat with each other. After eating they move to watch Emma open the presents while the butlers clean the dining table behind them.

"Okay Emma, which one do you want to open first?" Charming asks. Emma looks through the big pile of presents before she points to a package in red wrapping. Snow hands it to her. Emma tears into the package and gasps. She finds a beautiful storybook. When she flips through the pages she notices that it's filled with stories of her and her parents.

"This is amazing!" Emma squeals.

"It's from us," Snow motions to herself and Charming. Emma hugs them. Then she opens Killian, Brennan and Liam's present.

"Wow! This is so cool!" Emma shouts as she lifts a sword of her size from the package. It's not sharpened yet so Emma doesn't hurt herself but the hilt of the sword is carefully made of cold, grey steel with golden little swirls engraved on it. It's beautiful.

"Thank you so much! Now I'm just like mom!" Emma lifts the sword and poses like a knight.

"Your mom?" Killian asks in confusion.

"Didn't you know? My mom used to fight people in a dress!" Emma laughs. Snow kisses her head with a grin. Killian's eyes are wide and he gulps. Liam leans to whisper in his ear:

"Don't mess with her mom."

The six people start to laugh and the opening of the rest of the presents goes along smoothly. Emma gets treats from around the world, different books, even a giant teddy bear. Many of the village's children have gathered a bunch of pretty flowers that they gave to Emma. It's sweet, but Emma is so young that she doesn't think about the gesture that much before she moves on to other presents. If she was older she'd appreciate it a whole lot more.

Then, just like that, all the presents are opened. Emma and the rest of them are moving towards the dining table to enjoy a birthday cake that the exellent chefs made for the special occasion. They don't make it far before they hear a foreign voice.

"Happy birthday!"

Startled by the stranger, the group turns around. Emma lets out a scared and surprised scream. Snow, Brennan and Charming pull out their swords. Charming pushes his wife and child behind him. Even Liam and Killian have their swords out. Emma is the only one unarmed.

This person in front of them...they don't exactly know what to call him. He has a poison green and gold-ish skin of scales and beady, dangerous-looking eyes. His hair is greasy as ever. This is unnatural, they all know it. Charming, Snow and Brennan finally recognize who he is.

"Rumplestiltskin," Charming breathes in terror.

"The Dark One," Brennan adds.

"He looks like a crocodile," Killian whispers. Liam kicks his ankle, warning him that he shouldn't say that in front of the Dark One if he wants to stay alive. Emma is shaking in fear.

"What do you want? Why are you here?" Charming demands. He notices that the guards in the room are ready to charge if needed.

"I'm here to grant a present," Rumple says. He has a strangely high-pitched voice. He doesn't look that frightening but his expression and the dark knowledge shining from his face make him terrifying.

"We don't want anything from you," Snow says hardly. Rumple laughs.

"Oh, I'm not going to grant the present for you. It's for me!" he points at himself, "Because you two have something that I need."

"What? What is it?" Brennan asks, ready to defend his friends. Charming is practically a brother to him. Any threat to him and his family and Brennan is there, ready to support him.

"Her," Rumple points a long, scaly finger at Emma. Snow and Charming immediately step forward, pointing their swords at Rumple. Emma whines in fear, hiding behind Snow.

"Why do you want our daughter?" Charming asks threateningly, "ANSWER ME!"

"The reason I want her is that I'm a father, just like you,"

"What?" Snow is confused. How could a creature like him ever bear a child to someone?

"I have a son, the same age as your girl, and he's very ill. I've been told by a very powerful wizard that the young, beautiful princess has something that can heal him," Rumple explains.

"What do you need from Emma?" Snow asks.

"That's the thing. I don't know. That's why I'm taking her with me somewhere you'll never be able to find her. Once my son is healed, well...her fate is up to me," Rumple smirks. Charming lets out a shout of rage and commands his guards to attack. They run towards Rumple, swords high, but the demonic creature barely moves at all. He swings a hand and the guards are slammed against the wall, unconscious.

"We will not give up our daughter," Charming says, "I'm willing to die to make sure she stays untouched."

"That can be arranged," Rumple smiles. The group of six shrinks back in fear. Charming and Snow are in front of Emma and they're holding hands.

"Leave my castle. Now," Snow grits her teeth, "I will not let you take Emma!"

"Very well. I suppose it'll work this way too," Rumple snaps his fingers. Emma and Charming gasp. Snow is not in front of them anymore. She's next to Rumple, unable to move from her place.

"Mom! Mommy!" Emma yells. She hasn't said 'mommy' in a long time but in the terrifying moment it just comes out.

"Stay where you are, Emma! Mommy will be okay!" Snow tries to reassure her.

"Release her!" Liam shouts.

"Give me your daughter," Rumple growls at Charming, holding a hand out to Snow's direction, "or your wife dies right here, right now."

Charming could never make this choice. He has to choose between the two most important people in his life. Rumple's hard stare and menacing smirk are tearing through his brave, rock hard outside and ripping him in half. He can't choose so he remains silent.

"You dare to give the Dark One silent treatment? Fine," Rumple narrows his eyes. All of a sudden Snow starts to writhe and shake violently. She's clearly choking.

"Mom!" Emma starts to cry and she sinks her face into her hands. A few tears fall down Snow's cheeks, as if she's accepting her fate as a dead woman.

"STOP! Please..." Charming pleads. His heart is filled with terror for his wife. Please just let her come back to his arms, safe and sound. Rumple is still and Snow stops choking.

"Why do you torment this family? Let the Queen go!" Brennan exclaims.

"I will once the King gives me his daughter!"

While Charming and Brennan are on edge and watching over Snow's safety, Liam is having enough. Emma is his friend. He likes her parents. He doesn't want to see them in danger or unhappy. The sword is tightly in his hands.

"HAND ME THE GIRL OR SNOW WHITE TURNS INTO ASH BLACK ONCE I BURN HER!" Rumple yells out. Liam looks at him, fire burning deep in his eyes. Something snaps inside him. Liam raises his sword high in the air and starts to run towards the Dark One, desperate to help his friends. Brennan and Killian are immediately paralyzed in fear.

"LIAM! LIAM, STOP! NO!" Brennan is shouting at the top of his lungs. Emma lets out a terrified scream. She has her eyes squeezed shut. While Liam is running, Rumple snaps his fingers and a sword from a guard appears in his hand. Liam isn't fast enough to avoid his magic, he didn't see it in time and he runs straight into the blade.

"NO!"

Rumple's jaw drops and a victorious, cruel grin appears on his face. He drops Snow on the ground.

"I'll have what I want from someone else. I think I've caused enough trouble here for today," he whispers and disappears in a cloud of black smoke. Liam has dropped his own sword. The clattering sound of it on the stone floor is pain to Brennan. Liam falls on his knees. Killian and Brennan run to him while Emma and Charming rush to Snow, who is in better condition than Liam. There's a sword poking from his chest.

"LIAM! Liam, please...not my boy," tears fall down Brennan's cheeks. He's shaking and he lifts Liam onto his lap. Carefully he pulls out the sword and throws it aside. Snow recovers from her shock and looks to Liam.

"Oh no...Liam...you saved my life, mine and Emma's," she breathes, putting a hand on her mouth. Charming kisses her head and Emma is crying onto her dress, too afraid to look at Liam's condition.

"L-Liam - Liam, I need you. You can't go, I need a brother," Killian is crying. His cheeks are red and puffed. He's heartbroken.

"K-Killian..." Liam coughs, "I-I love you."

Blood is soaking his shirt. He reaches for his sword as well as he can. Brennan helps him retrieve it.

"Take it," Liam hands the sword to Killian, who starts to cry more hysterically. Snow and Charming pity him. He's still so young, he shouldn't be witnessing these things. And Liam...poor Liam. He's only fifteen and a wonderful boy. He doesn't deserve to be killed by the Dark One.

"No! No, Liam, no! Don't do this! You can have the ship! You can have dad's ship if you want!" Killian cries, squeezing the sword close to his chest.

"Liam...my brave captain. My beloved son," Brennan lowers his face onto Liam's stomach and he cries. Liam still looks at Killian with the most amazing brotherly love.

"L-Liam," Killian sobs loudly. Liam grabs his hand.

"Shh, it's okay, brother. I-I'm going to see mummy...I'm going to see mummy,"

Liam is still. The cries of the group of five fill the room.

There are no birthday celebrations that night.


End file.
